Teen Dad

Fourteen

"Daddy, I'm scared." I looked down to see Anna hugging my side.

I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her closer, kissing her head. "There's nothing to be scared of. Your just going to feel a little prick then it will be over. And afterwards, we can go get some lunch with Abby."

"Where is Abby?"

"She had to go grab something from the car. Don't worry, she'll be back before you have to go in," I assured her.

"I'm back, " Abby said as she sat on the other side of Anna.

I leaned into Anna's ear and whispered, "told you so."

"What was that?" Abby asked, completely oblivious on what was going on.

"Just helping Annabelle with her nerves."

Abby smiled and hugged Anna, "don't worry, we'll be right by your side."

"Annabelle Little," a nurse said. We stood up and walked to were she was on the other side of the room. "Please follow me."

We followed her to a small room. I places Anna on the bench and took a seat next to Abby in the extra chairs. "My name is Melissa, I will be doing your test. Now, I understand this is a DNA test, am I correct?"

"Yes," I said.

She looked down at her clipboard and started scribbling this on it." And I'm comparing her blood work to a man named David Cross?" I nodded. "Okay then. Now, Anna, your just going to feel a slight pinch then it will be over."
The nurse grabbed a syringe on the counter and began to walk towards the bench. "D-daddy!"

I walked up to the bench and grabbed Anna's hand as the nurse was about to poke the needle in her arm. "Ready?" she asked. Anna nodded. "Three...two...one..." Anna squeezed my hand as the blood was being taken from her arm. "There, all done," the nurse said, placing a bandaid over the little puncture.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Abby asked, walking up to us.

"No," Anna said, "but it still hurt."

"It will be sore for a few days," the nurse said. "If it starts to swell put ice on it, and remember to change the bandaid every day."

"Thank you," I said, picking Anna up in my arms. When we were in the waiting room I set her down and walked to the counter to ask the lady a few questions. I came back soon after and said, "Come on, let's go get some food."

~~~~~~~~~

"See anything you like?" Abigail asked Anna.

"I want that!" Annabelle replied, pointing to a breakfast platter.

"That looks delicious, but it also looks big. Do you think you'll be able to finish that?"

Anna's smile dropped as she looked down at the picture and realized how much food is on it. "Oh...um..."

Abby laughed a little and smiled down at her, "don't worry, we can share. And you can pick the toppings."

"Thank you Abby," Anna said, hugging Abigail tightly.

"Your welcome."

After a few minutes, a waitress came up to us and began taking out order. "Hello, my name is Elizabeth, I'll be your waitress. Can I get you guys anything to drink?"

"Lemonade!" Anna shouted.

"Water please," I said.

"Make the two lemonades," Abby said.

She wrote everything thing down and smiled, "Okay, I'll be right back." As she walked away I thought I saw her name tag and could have sworn it looked familiar. I cocked my eyebrow and watched her walk behind a bar.

Abby looked at me and tilted her head with confusion, "You okay?"

I snapped out of it and smiled at her, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought I recognized her name."

"Well, Elizabeth is a very common name."

"I know, but still, something's odd," I said, looking down at the table. I saw Anna coloring a picture and leaned on the table to get a closer look. "What're you drawing princess?"

She held up the paper and showed a horse like animal, "It's a unicorn!"

I smiled, "It looks amazing."

The waitress came back and set down our drinks. "Are you guys ready to order?" I nodded and she smiled. "What can I get for you guys?" she asked, looking at Annabelle first.

"That," she said, pointing to what she wanted on the menu.

"Okay, and you miss?"

"I'm sharing with her," Abby said.

"Okay, and sir?"

"I'll have the eggs, toast, and bacon."

"Okay," she said, "I'll be back in a bit with your food."

I looked at your name tag again and new I was right from before. I recognized her name and, even though I've never met her, knew exactly who she was. "I knew I recognized her name," I mumbled.

"Who is she?" Abigail asked. 

"I think she's An-"

"Here you are," the waitress said, putting our food down in front of us. Annabelle's eyes widened and her mouth watered as her food was set down in front of her. The plate held two pancakes, a cup of fruit, eggs, sausage, hash browns, and two different packets of syrup. She then placed a plate in front of me with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast with peanut butter and two kinds of jelly on the side.

"This looks amazing," Abigail said.

"If you need anything else just call me," she smiled and walked away. I watched her do behind the bar and serve some people coffee.

"I'll be right back," I said. I got up from my seat and walked up to where she was.

"Is there a problem with your food?" She asked, a slight smile on her face.

"No, I just recognized your name and wanted to ask you something. Did you ever have a daughter?"

Her smile disappeared and she looked away and started to wipe down the counter. "I did, once, but she's gone now. I lost her."

"Lost her, or gave her up?" She looked up and widened her eyes slightly.  "My name is Michael Little. I'm the guy who found your daughter."